MU is one of these institutions, university spokesman Christian Basi said.

The ACHA has been collecting information since Aug. 22, and participating colleges in Missouri, which represent 83,674 students, have reported 774 cases in that period, more than every bordering state except Tennessee.

Survey findings are important because of the uncertainty surrounding the virus, MU Health Care spokesman Jeff Hoelscher said.

Stephens College is not contributing to the survey, spokeswoman Sara Fernandez said, while Columbia College officials could not confirm the college’s participation.

The survey does not differentiate among flu strains, but the vast majority of the cases are likely H1N1, Turner said.

In its most recent FluView report, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said 99 percent of recently reported type A flu cases were H1N1.

Still, the majority of cases reported to the ACHA have been mild, Turner said. More than 21,000 incidences have resulted in 37 hospitalizations and no deaths.

What is unique is the timing. Flu season doesn’t normally begin until late fall or early winter, Turner said.

“It feels like January,” he said.

Although seasonal flu rates have not previously been tracked on campuses nationally, current H1N1 numbers at the University of Virginia are in line with typical campus rates for the seasonal flu, Turner said.

The possibility of mutations to the H1N1 virus has MU officials concerned, but the flu is a perennial problem, Hoelscher said.